I'm so delighted that Andy has won his first grand slam- just so happy, He deserves it so much. I was just crying and full of emotion when he won the last point of the final. It was very overwhelming. I think the Olympic triumph gave Andy huge amounts of confidence and belief. I don't think Andy played his best at the USO, but his desire, courage and determination shone through most of his matches. He did play some fantastic tennis now and again and in my view was the worthy champion of the USO 2012. Let's look at it this way. His mentality has changed so dramatically over the last couple of years. He may have lost that match against Cilic or against Lopez a couple of years ago. We all knew how talented Andy was at first He just needed that extra self belief and confidence. I think Lendl has brought this belief imo. Of course other aspects of his game have improved as well such as the 2nd serve and the forehand. I must admit I was pretty impressed with the FH at times at the USO just incredible what a difference a few years make If Andy continues to impress and show what a great fighter and player he is I reckon 3 or 4 slams have Andy's name on it.

^ Andy can only get better and better. It was the mental thing that was holding him back. I just wish he'd had had Lendl on board a lot sooner, in fact as soon as possible after his 2010 AO defeat would have been ideal. Had he done so, I feel we could already be looking at a minimum of 3 or 4 Slams.

^ Andy can only get better and better. It was the mental thing that was holding him back. I just wish he'd had had Lendl on board a lot sooner, in fact as soon as possible after his 2010 AO defeat would have been ideal. Had he done so, I feel we could already be looking at a minimum of 3 or 4 Slams.

I agree but he was very stubborn, infuriatingly so, about playing "his"game which was much too passive before despite the flashes of aggression we all knew were in there somewhere.He is clearly the most improved player this year, its unlikely that Nadal will be a factor until later in the spring in the US and Andy has the game to beat him on a hardcourt anyway. I'm hoping he gets that federer semi in AO as beating him there will do a lot for his confidence as would a WTF win, which would be about time.If he does get the AO then he has got to be a favourite with Nadal for Wimbledon.Before we all know it he could be on 3 and the world number one, he has the tools.And he could still have another 4 or 5 years at the very top.Andy winning another 3 or 4 slams may turn out to be a rather modest estimate.But it depends how further he progresses & who else hangs around. One thing is for sure, there will be further improvement at some point with the gorilla now off his back.Interesting times.

^ I agree his stubbornness was also a drawback, and one that infuriated me too, and Maclagan certainly wasn't the man to kick it out of him, and kick him out of his comfort zone as well. No wonder his team were constantly being referred to as "Yes men", but I suppose we have to accept that at that time Andy probably wouldn't even have considered Lendl as a coach. Perhaps it was a period of his career that he was destined to work through before he could go on to achieve his goals.

I should'nt write off Delpo too soon He suffered a really bad wrist injury and they take a long time before a player can truly trust it again I'm always glad if he is'nt in Murrays quarter. Reading these letters it seems that it won't be long before we are worrying whether Andy will be a" one slam pony" I prayed he would win one slam he did.Now I am just going to enjoy his performances as long as he wants to grace the tennis scene

Del Potro could never compete even before the injury. His H2H against the top guys is terrible (I think Andy is 5-1 up, with the one loss coming on the clay). He's never even won a Masters. The USO was where it all came together for him, with him finding his best form as the other top guys waned (Nadal was still recovering from his long injury lay-off). Murray on the other hand has been knocking on the door for four years now and has won 8 Masters in his career, reaching 4 Slam finals.

Del Potro is the best of the rest in my opinion, apart from Ferrer perhaps, and he may win more Slams in the future depending on what happens with Rafa and Federer, but he'll never be on the same level as the top four and he never has.

Del Potro could never compete even before the injury. His H2H against the top guys is terrible (I think Andy is 5-1 up, with the one loss coming on the clay). He's never even won a Masters. The USO was where it all came together for him, with him finding his best form as the other top guys waned (Nadal was still recovering from his long injury lay-off). Murray on the other hand has been knocking on the door for four years now and has won 8 Masters in his career, reaching 4 Slam finals.

Del Potro is the best of the rest in my opinion, apart from Ferrer perhaps, and he may win more Slams in the future depending on what happens with Rafa and Federer, but he'll never be on the same level as the top four and he never has.

Spot on Madhatter. Let's be honest.....Delpo's Slam was a bit of a fluke. I seem to remember Federer doing the same as he did recently against Berdych i.e. trying to out-hit them. What a plonker Federer is for someone (supposedly) with all the skills and variety of game. Can't see anyone getting near to Andy and Joker in next 3 years + maybe Nadal, fitness allowing.

Spot on Madhatter. Let's be honest.....Delpo's Slam was a bit of a fluke. I seem to remember Federer doing the same as he did recently against Berdych i.e. trying to out-hit them. What a plonker Federer is for someone (supposedly) with all the skills and variety of game. Can't see anyone getting near to Andy and Joker in next 3 years + maybe Nadal, fitness allowing.

That's a good point actually, i never understood why that is such a blind spot with Federer, trying to go toe to toe with the big hitters, almost as if he's being led by them and it's kind of like falling into their trap, he does the same with Djoko and tries to play long baseline rallies with him and just ends up being knackered after 3 sets and usually ends up losing in 5, it's almost like he's trying to prove something instead of just playing his usual aggressive game.

I think he could even win the French Open. Why not? He got to the SF in 2011 despite an ankle injury. I came across this comment by Mike Dickson of the Mail in his report on the Murray/Nadal semi -

In gusting winds that whipped up the clay, the 24 year-old Scot launched his personal Operation Desert Storm, only to find his missiles failing to hit the target often enough when it most mattered.

This result was confirmation of several things, firstly that Nadal is phenomenally good, secondly that, in technical terms, Murray is not very far behind.

The most telling reality, though, is that the 24-year-old Scot is still well adrift of his three main rivals when it comes to competing hard and maintaining a strong mentality over long periods. That may be harsh, and is to judge him by almost impossibly high standards, but winning a Grand Slam, including negotiating his way through early rounds, is going to require him maturing considerably further.

I must admit I'd die a happy woman right now knowing that Andy has at long last won his maiden Slam, and an Olympic Gold to boot, and is well and truly up there with the Big Boys, but I know from what Andy has said that he has his eye on winning more Slams and that his ambition is to become No.1, something which really would be the icing on the cake. In a way though he has now shifted one expectation to another, which, although infinitely less burdensome, is inevitably going to raise its head at some point in the foreseeable future.

Anyway, despite claiming earlier that I wouldn't make any predictions, I've done a bit more thinking based on comments on this thread, and now feel that 5 Slams (in total, that is) isn't an unrealistic figure.

I've noticed that now in every interview instead of "when are you going to win a slam" its "when are you going to win wimbledon?" Poor guy. I suppose there may be millions of people who pay no attention to tennis apart from Wimblers and will not notice unless he wins that one. I was a bit like that before becoming an Andy fan.

I've noticed that now in every interview instead of "when are you going to win a slam" its "when are you going to win wimbledon?" Poor guy. I suppose there may be millions of people who pay no attention to tennis apart from Wimblers and will not notice unless he wins that one. I was a bit like that before becoming an Andy fan.

If he can win Wimby next year, then that'll get that particular monkey off his back since it seems to be the one Slam most people were obsessing about, probably for the reason you state, either that or maybe Wimby seems more important to them. I seem to remember that it was always the case that "no male player has won Wimbledon since 1936" - completely ignoring the existence of the other Slams. Perry won the AO in 1934 and the FO the following year.

If he can win Wimby next year, then that'll get that particular monkey off his back since it seems to be the one Slam most people were obsessing about, probably for the reason you state, either that or maybe Wimby seems more important to them. I seem to remember that it was always the case that "no male player has won Wimbledon since 1936" - completely ignoring the existence of the other Slams. Perry won the AO in 1934 and the FO the following year.

Yeah they do go on about that don't they! Oh well here's hoping he gets it next year - came damned close this year - if only they hadn't shut the roof!!

Yeah they do go on about that don't they! Oh well here's hoping he gets it next year - came damned close this year - if only they hadn't shut the roof!!

Totally agree about the roof. I still maintain Andy would have had a fighting chance if the match had been able to continue outdoors, although I reckon they should have closed the roof from the start given that the organisers knew heavy rain was on its way. The excuse that "this is an outdoor tournament" was pathetic in the circumstances.